Read In My Dreams for Free Online Page A

I could learn to love, live, and trust again. I sighed, staring into the darkened office, wondering if I should go in. It was a whole lot warmer in the store than it was in the jeep. Plus, Mrs. Kelly always kept the heater on during the winter. With a sigh I turned off the jeep and slid out into the cold. As I turned to grab my purse, I felt a hand grasp my shoulder.
    “Ahhhh--!!!” I screamed, as an electric jolt of fear shot through me. I jumped and whacked the top of my head on the top of the door-frame.
    “Sorry! Sorry!” a woman exclaimed, shuffling backwards, holding her hands up. She was about my height with tanned colored skin, high cheek bones, and long, black hair which hung in single braid over her left shoulder. She wore a furry light brown parka which matched her furry boots. They looked like they were authentic animal skins. The worry in her dark brown eyes persuaded me that she was harmless.
    “I am so sorry. I did not mean to frighten you,” she said in a calm, native Alaskan accent.
    “No-no…It’s alright. You just startled me. I’m a HUGE scaredy-cat and all this darkness doesn’t help,” I muttered rubbing my sore head, trying to steady my trembling legs.
    “Are you - Elizabeth?” she questioned. Her eyes became wide waiting for my answer.
    “Yes,” I replied, completely dumbfounded. How did she know my name?
    “Oh! Thank goodness,” she breathed with her hand over her heart, “I have come such a long way to speak to you. Do you have a moment?”
    I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out who she was or why she’d want to talk to me. I studied her face to see if I’d ever seen her before. I hadn’t. This was the first time I’d ever laid eyes on this woman. I knew I would have remembered her. Her face was very distinct, very Native.
    “Y-yeah – sure,” I said unsure of what I was getting myself into. “I am early anyway, so please… come inside.”
    She held her hand out to me. “My name is very hard to pronounce, so you can just call me Lucy… Lucy Crow,” she said with a wide, gleaming smile.
    “Elizabeth Hayes,” I returned, “but you can call me Lizzy.”
    She laughed and I smiled back, shaking her cold, soft hand. I hurriedly made my way to the front door, unlocked it, and ushered her in. I flicked on all the lights and locked the door behind us. She followed me to a small room at the back of the store which we used for lunch breaks. “Got some nice stuff in here,” she noted. “You make these things yourself?” she asked, picking up and studying a homemade doll.
    “No. The lady I work for makes all this stuff.” I paused. “Can I get you something? Coffee, tea, juice, or something to eat?” I asked, rummaging through the small refrigerator.
    “No, thank you,” she replied, plopping down on a wooden chair across me, peeling out of her parka and folding it carefully on the floor next to her.
    “That’s a really nice coat,” I said, admiring the thick fur. I could tell it was real. Thank God PETA wasn’t around.
    “Thank you. It is an anorak, made from caribou. It was my mothers,” she said proudly, running her fingers across it. She then became distracted looking towards the far corner of the room. Her eyes narrowed, and her face looked annoyed, like she was being bothered. “Just wait… I told you I will! Quiet now!” she demanded to the empty space.
    “Excuse me?” I asked in complete shock of her outburst. I wondered if she was talking to me, but I hadn’t said a word other than asking her for a drink or snack.
    “Oh my, I am so sorry,” she said noticing my reaction. Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. “I wasn’t talking to you, Lizzy.”
    “Oh… okay.” I said, now completely confused.
    Had I just let a psycho lady into the store? I hoped she didn’t just escape from a mental hospital or something like that. I quickly contemplated my easiest escape route and tried to remember some self-defense moves. Then a flash of Sandra